Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116GMOs 28 www.seed.ab.ca | Advancing Seed in Alberta Global Status of GMOs Smoother access to export markets pinned to hopes for more predictable regulatory approval processes. YOU’VE come a long way, baby. That’s an expression that easily sums up the progress of GM crops over the last 20 years. In its report Water Efficient Maize for Africa, ISAAA states that global cultivation of biotech hectarage increased 100-fold, from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to a whopping 179.7 million hectares in 2015. ISAAA – the non-profit group International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications – estimates that since 1996, farmers in up to 28 countries have reaped more than US$150 billion in benefits from biotech crops. And if new developments in 2015 are any indication, the future is bright for GM crops. New approvals and/or commercializa- tions occurred in several countries last year, including the U.S., Brazil, Argentina, Canada and Myanmar. There were a number of “firsts” in the U.S., including the introduction of Innate potatoes (bruise-resistant and with lower levels of acrylamide, a potential carcinogen) and Arctic apples (do not brown when sliced). “Acreage of DroughtGard maize, first planted in the United States in 2013, increased 15-fold from 50,000 hectares in 2013 to 810,000 hectares,” notes the ISAAA. “More than 85 potential new products in the pipeline are now being field-tested, including a biotech drought-tolerant maize from the Water Efficient Maize for Africa project expected to be released in Africa in 2017, Golden Rice in Asia, and fortified bananas and pest-resistant cowpea in Africa. However, Jim Everson, executive director at Soy Canada, would like to see market access challenges reduced for biotech crops in places such as Europe. “There were two recent proposals relating to EU member states being able to opt out of GM crop production and also importation of GM crops, but the second was recently defeated,” he explains. “We were relieved about that, and would be very concerned if that proposal were presented again. Europe is a big market for soybeans used as protein source in animal feeds.” Soy Canada would also like to see faster EU approval of new GM soybean varieties. Part of what takes so long is the fact GMOs in the EU are regulated in a two-stage process by two entities: the European Commission and European Food Safety Authority. In addition, some EU members have their own regulatory agencies that may involve themselves with biotech crops. “We’d like to see more science and more predictability in the approval process,” Everson notes. “More choice in what to grow benefits Canadian farmers.” However, progress on the EU front with these issues is affected by politics, according to Dr. Wendan Wang. He wrote in the June 2016 issue of Food Safety Magazine: “…the rise of environmental and often ‘anti-GMO’ groups have been taking Acreage of DroughtGard maize, first planted in the United States in 2013, increased 15-fold from 50,000 hectares in 2013 to 810,000 hectares. Photo courtesy Monsanto.